Formative Phrases

          Recently we had a community gathering where we discussed a bumper sticker proclaiming Less judgment-- more curiosity. (A large part of the conversation was around whether the correct spelling of judgment was with or without an e after the g!)

Listening to the conversations about how to move from judgment to curiosity, I thought about the idea of “formative phrases” and that prompted me to reflect upon the other “formative phrases” in my life.
       I am aware of a number of formative phrases in my life. Of course, St. Benedict’s Listen with the ear of your heart and Prefer nothing to the love of Christ are two of the most important in my monastic life as well as many passages from Scripture. But the five that bound forward almost without thinking about it are the ones below:
       Lord help me to remember nothing will happen to me today that You and I cannot handle together. This was a consoling and helpful phrase at a time in my life when I wasn’t sure I could handle life. I’m not sure who the original author was but I have it on a plaque that attributes it to Thomas Merton.
       You not God as we think you
       Furnace of silence
       Difficult friend.
This is a phrase in a litany type prayer by Huub Oosterhuis from the book Your Word is Near. Oosterhuis' prayer style and phraseology have had a strong impact on my own prayer style.
       Live your questions now and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along someday into your answers. Rainer Marie Rilke
       For surely I know the plans I have for you, says God, plans for your welfare … to give you a future with hope. Jeremiah 29: 11  Even though I can never remember the exact chapter and verse, this phrase has given me hope and comfort.
       I do not understand the mystery of grace—only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. Anne Lamott I'm still reflecting on the mystery and truth of this.
      All of these phrases have sifted down into depths of my soul and formed me in my relationships with God and others. What are your formative phrases?
      Sr. Deborah Harmeling, OSB

To Really Hear

I often tell parents with whom I work that instructions need to be repeated three times before a child hears it once.  This summer it has become apparent to me that I too sometimes need to hear the same thing three (or more) times before it takes root.  In my experience, this is even more so when it comes to my relationship with God.

On three separate occasions in the past two months I have been reminded that God loves me, God is faithful and my task is to practice fidelity to the monastic way of life.  This I’ve lived and known but I heard it in a different way.  Why?

First, I had to step away from the busyness to even realize the clutter which needed to be cleared.  There is so much to see, hear and do that it becomes easy for me to lose my focus in small ways which accumulate.  Each time I heard “God loves you; God is faithful; and to practice fidelity to the monastic way of life” it penetrated deeper.  I heard the words with my ears, then in my thoughts and somewhere during the third time with the ear of my heart. 

Only then did I really hear and embrace in a new way what I have known…that which calls me to God and gives me the strength and courage to practice fidelity to the monastic way of life in community through prayer and work.  May we each find ways to really hear God’s love and faithfulness in our midst whatever our task.

Sr. Kimberly Porter OSB

Guess Who's Here!

          We had a community retreat last week led by Sr. Karen Joseph, OSB, from our daughter house in Ferdinand, IN. A number of her quotes and phrases struck me. One of them was this: We are always guests in the house of the Lord. When I heard it, the first thing that popped into my mind is that here, in this community, in this monastery, I live in the house of the Lord. I am a perennial guest. 

          I let my mind wander about what this might mean.  Here are a few musings:

• If this is God's house, then God is the host who sees to my needs and wants me to feel at home.

• If this is God's house, then all of us here are guests; this adds another aspect to the complex realities

       of relating to each other.

• If this is God's house, then nothing is really mine; it all belongs to God.

• If this is God's house, everything here is holy and must be treated with reverence. 

          I was realizing how integrally all this relates to St. Paul's theology of our being the Body of Christ and how much it sounds like Benedict's Rule. Then my mind took another turn.  I realized that everywhere is God's house ... this city, this state, this earth, this cosmos. God is the universal host, and in every aspect of my life I am a guest. 

          Now, if I apply my earlier conjectures to this line of thinking, I come up with questions:

• Does the way I use the earth and its gifts change if I see them as belonging to God?

• Does this realization affect my perspective and responsibility re contemporary issue like government

      (local, state, national and international), ecology, economics, justice, etc., etc., etc.?

• Do I have a different accountability to others if all of us equally are guests in God's house? 

          One realization emerging from these mental meanderings is that if everywhere is God's house and all of us are guests, I should be able to use this awareness to experience God in any place, time, or circumstance. This Host is all-embracing and always present in some way within me and in each person I meet. All of us are guests at the same "house party" because the Host who invited us loves each of us with equal intensity. 

          The challenge for me in all this: Within the people and situations I encounter, can I find elements of the divine love that brought us together? When I find people really difficult, does it help to remember that we are equal guests of God on this planet? Will it help me to remember that in no circumstance will I have to guess who's there with me? It should. God the Host has welcomed me. I am here! God is here!

          Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Lord, help me to see!

          This year we have a summer garden, replete with the usual tomatoes, zucchini, carrots (in 5 colors!), herbs and peppers. Our most widespread and productive plants are the pickle cucumbers. Over the three weeks I’ve picked 30 or more a day, ranging in size from 3 to 5 inches long. Every once in a while I find a few that are a bit longer. This morning after I’d been up and down the tangled area twice I found one about the size of a butter squash! 

          I walked for some time saying to myself and others, “How did I miss something that large, right under my nose and close to my finger tips?”Next I wondered, “In any given day, what else do I miss?” This brought back memories of the time when I was struck by a car that I didn’t see coming. I was constantly asked why I didn’t see it. I’ve tried to answer the why many times.

          Tonight I’ve concluded that I’ll keep trying to answer the why questions, but I will put more effort into seeing—seeing who or what is right in front of me. 

         Lord, help me to see!    Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB

Retirement

          I have just retired from 50+ years of teaching. I loved my work but I knew it was time to say good-bye while my dignity was still somewhat intact! Little did I realize what a bushel basket full of emotions would ensue. When the first person  said “congratulations”, I was dumbstruck. 

          Now I can say “thank you” and be gracious about it.I do have more time to just “be” and that is awesome. But I know that retirement does not mean sitting around eating the proverbial bonbons. When asked, I usually say my new title is “help-as-needed”.  This past week, July 17, I got hit between the eyeballs by the story of Moses and a short commentary.  Moses approaches the burning bush and God tells him something like “I have heard the cry of the Israelites held in captivity.” Moses is probably thinking “Great! Now God will do something.”  Lo and behold, God turns it around and tells Moses he is the one who will be sent to free the people. Oh, my!!! But God also promises to be with Moses for the duration. 

          I am reminded and inspired by the Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict. Among many things we are told that every time we begin a new work, we must pray to God to bring it to perfection. Secondly whatever we do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord. Also we have many good gifts given us by God. So with a deep breath, fervent prayer, knowledge of God’s presence and my many blessings, I embrace the unknown future. And I ask your prayers as well.

Sr. Mary Rabe, OSB

A Grateful Heart

     I am not sure of the reason but especially in recent summers my awareness of a grateful heart has grown. And, this summer I am particularly grateful. 

     For the past ten years I have had the privilege of meeting weekly with men and women who are coping with a cancer and all that this diagnosis entails. Many in the group relate experiencing a desire to be with others who are going through similar experiences. In time individual concerns are expressed, group connections are made, bonds are formed, and community is created.

     In listening to them I experience a deeper appreciation for the preciousness of life and its fragility, being mindful of the beauty of each day and endeavoring then not to get caught up in the small stuff of life. Listening to their statements similar to “it is ironical but cancer taught me how to live;” or “if I hadn’t got cancer I don’t believe that I would have reconciled with my daughter;” or “I don’t take anything for granted” and “I try to live a full life as much as possible, and make every moment count” has had a deep impact in my life.

      With deepening awareness and commitment, I try to put into action each day what this group practices and Galen Guengeriich recommends “Breathe a prayer of gratitude. And give those you love an extra measure of affection. Life is fleeting and love is precious. Cherish both.”  

     Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB

St. Benedict—Feast July 11

St. Benedict (480 AD-547AD) lived in Italy. He was born in a town called Norcia (sometimes spelled Nursia), a village high in the mountains of northeast Rome. His parents were wealthy and sent him to Rome for classical studies but he found life in Rome too degenerate. He went to place southeast of Rome, called Subiaco, where he lived as a hermit in a cave for three years. He was looked after by a monk named Romanus.

               A group of monks discovered Benedict and asked him to be their spiritual leader. He agreed. The monks did not like his leadership in the monastery and they tried to poison him. When he went to drink the poisoned wine, he blessed it and the cup broke into pieces. Benedict left this monastery and began his own monastery in Subiaco. He eventually established twelve monasteries.

               In 529 he moved to Montecassino about 80 miles southeast of Rome and built a monastery there. It was here that he wrote the Rule for Benedictines. St. Benedict is called the “the Father of Western Monasticisim.

               St. Benedict’s rule speaks of “Ora et Labora” (prayer and work). This is what identifies Bendict’s community. The prayer is the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) and the work is manual labor. The “Opus Dei” is a name for the “work of God” and this refers to the Divine Office.

               St. Benedict had a twin sister, St. Scholastica, who founded a community of women religious near St. Benedict’s monastery.

               St. Benedict’s Rule is practiced today by Benedictines all over the world. He died in 547 while standing in prayer. You might say that he died as he lived because he lived a life of continuous prayer!

               He has two feastdays: July 11 (the date celebrated by the Universal Church) and March 21 (an additional date celebrated by Benedictines). He is also called the Father of Western Europe.

      Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB